Germany’s largest airline Lufthansa said it was cancelling almost 1,700 flights on Monday, mostly on domestic and short-haul European routes, as a result of planned strike action by thousands of workers calling for higher pay.

Lufthansa is to reduce the proportion of long-haul planes with first-class seats in its fleet to 75 per cent, in a response to falling demand for airfare tickets that can command the price of a small car.

Whenever a jet flies overhead while Wolfgang Breckau is playing golf in Shenzhen he stops and listens for a few seconds before deciding whether it is being powered by a Pratt & Whitney, a General Electric or a Rolls-Royce engine.

A four-day Lufthansa pilot strike will see at least eight Lufthansa flights to and from Hong Kong cancelled. The Airport Authority said Lufthansa had said that tomorrow two Hong Kong-Munich flights, and two Hong Kong-Frankfurt flights would be cancelled. Two Wednesday Hong Kong-Munich flights and two Thursday Hong Kong-Frankfurt flights would also be cancelled.

Lufthansa Technik offers phenomenal interior design ideas for the super jumbo Airbus 380. Approved by both Boeing and Airbus, the aircraft is perfectly crafted to indulge every whim, and includes luxurious fittings such as a movie theatre. For more information visit www.lufthansa-technik.com

Air-cargo industry rocked as US and European authorities investigate surcharges for fuel and security

Competition watchdog authorities raided the offices of Cathay Pacific Airways in Frankfurt, Los Angeles and San Francisco yesterday as the carrier was caught up in global probes into price fixing in the air-cargo industry.

Broadband above the clouds: On January 15, Lufthansa will celebrate a world first by launching the first Boeing 747-400 with broadband Internet on board. Passengers will be able to access the Internet for the first time above the clouds with state-of-the-art notebook technology from Fujisu Siemens Computers.

Bonn (Oct 18): West German police commandos blasted their way into the hijacked Lufthansa jet at Somalia's Mogadishu airport early today and freed all 86 hostages - 90 minutes before a deadline to blow it up.